Smile
by Maus17
Summary: Mikey wasn't one for reading what his brothers called 'normal' books, and he didn't want to bore the little dudette to death. Magazines were okay, he supposed. She liked looking at pictures, so why not give her one of Donnie's nerdy ones? She seemed to like that. Yeah. That could work.


_**A small drabble about how Maus smiles for the first time. Cheesy and sappy. EH. *shrugs* I hope ya like it. BEHOLD THE POWER OF NAT GEO! XD**_

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Hers was different from the rest.

He wasn't a deep thinker, or a behavioral analyst, but it was noticeable. Very obvious, in fact, since he was starting to get accustomed to her presence. He wasn't around her every single second of every day- but he tried to be. He tried with all of his heart to be friendly and make her feel at ease. He had noticed several oddities and habits- such as walking on all fours, or looking around before entering a room- and that was how he had come to notice this. It was small, and trivial, really- but to him, it made a difference. A big one.

Of course there were variations in appearance- skin, eyes, fur or lack thereof- but hers was entirely different from his. From all of theirs, actually.

He did it all the time. Or tried to, anyway- it was always plastered onto his face, and it annoyed the others sometimes, but he loved it. He just loved seeing it reflected and reciprocated when he flashed it at someone. It gave him a warm and fuzzy sense of accomplishment.

He did it when he was reading a particularly funny comic book, or when something on the radio or T.V. caused him to do it. It smacked itself onto his face quickly whenever he thought of new ideas to prank his brethren, and when Master Splinter told him a story.

To him, it was important. It showed reassurance, safety, happiness, friendship. It was a sign of good things, a sign of hope. To him, it was the most communicative and powerful thing in the world. It could change someone's day- perhaps, if he wasn't being too dramatic, someone's life. He had never been one for looking at himself in the mirror, but he knew his electric blue eyes sparkled when he did it, and some had described it as cheeky. Not a bad thing, he knew- though he really did not know what the word meant. It was a good thing. He knew that much. Then again, one really couldn't assume about their own looks properly.

Whenever Donatello did it, it was when he had made a new discovery, or read something he found exciting. It was when after all of those hours of hard work finally paid off, or when he was telling him about his latest idea for an invention. It happened to him when he was reading something entertaining, and whenever he saw his younger brother laugh. It was on his face when he was teasing him about something, and when he bashfully received praise. Sometimes it would be tired and weak, hazel eyes dull as his lips pulled up limply. Other times it would be wry and sarcastic, with a tinge of amusement- but most of the time it was excited and thirsty for knowledge.

Leo didn't do it as enthusiastically- he was sort of a serious guy. He would do it when he listened to his father's praise, or when he finally mastered a move that he had been working hard on. Sometimes it would crawl onto his face when he watched silly arguments, and other times it would appear when he was being slightly optimistic and reassuring. His brown eyes would be warm and the shape of it would always be the same- stable.

Raphael hardly did it. A serious and brooding look usually took its place, often making others think it was the only thing he had to show. His golden orbs hardly ever went soft, but that didn't make it impossible. It would appear in the form of a slightly crooked smirk, bringing a welcome twinkle in his eye. It happened when Mikey was being particularly dumb, or when he succeeded in getting Donatello to give in and go to sleep. It happened whenever he was right about something, or when he left Mikey slack-jawed and speechless with an amazing comeback. The thing was slapped on his lips whenever he punched something that threatened him or his family, filling him with satisfaction.

Jeez, even Raphael did it.

But she didn't.

Mikey had noticed this in her short stay. Her facial expression was often a blank one, eyes vacant and dull, often hard or painfully distant. An air of trapped apathy seemed to be around her sometimes, and no matter how much he tried, his subtle efforts were discarded. Not in a mean or degrading way- it was just the sad fact that she simply did not understand the meaning of jokes, or sarcasm, or the use of double entendres. The usual banter could not illuminate her features as easily as it did the others. Her situation was unique- he knew that.

Despite all of the barriers blocking his way, he and his brothers tried to make it happen. They talked to her- no matter how vacant and taciturn she was, no matter how silent or confused she ended up at the ends of their conversations. Trying to put her at ease, trying to make it happen, that had become a mutual goal for all of them. Michelangelo didn't know about his brothers, but he did it purposefully, willingly, he tried especially hard. He loved seeing it on other people's faces, and getting it on hers had become a special mission.

Walking down the hall silently, using every one of his ninja skills, he felt one crawl onto his face as he remembered his latest attempt, no more than half an hour ago.

Donnie's National Geographic magazines weren't so useless after all.

"Um..Here- you can look at the pretty pictures," he had suggested, shrugging after trying to entertain her. Seeing her simply sit there at the table blankly was just depressing. Mikey didn't know if she could even read, but he wasn't about to ask her that. They all called her E-5 now and again, being that it was what she had stitched and tagged onto her jumpsuit- the black one she wore all the time. It was all she pointed to when asked her name, and so, they respected her wishes.

Now, peeking around the corner and tentatively leaning over to get a glimpse of her sitting on his couch, he felt it widen and turn into a grin.

E-5 had her knees curled to her chest, holding the magazine with small and ginger hands, eyes intrigued and curious. Her velvety ears were pricked attentively, and she gave the page an unblinking, piercing stare, boring holes into it with her moony irises.

She had never seen anything like it before. Such beauty, in her opinion, such color and magnificent vividness, such enrapturing images were impossibly unfathomable. They did not exist, did not belong in this world with the ugly, the ordinary, the freaking, and the dull and boring.

But they _did. _

The hedge-girl knew it was a living animal- she knew that much, anyhow. She just didn't know _exactly_ what it was. It was large, according to this image, and wondrously strange. A slim, black and white speckled body framed by silky, delicate and colorful wings on either side. Its legs were small and black, along with two...feelers on its head. It was poised on a green leaf, contrasting against it with its amazing dappled form of blue and black. The beauteous creature seemed to hold the deepest midnight in its crests, the boldest and most brightest form of blue color in the universe printed on its wings, the most elegant grace in its slender limbs.

The stunning effect it had on her made her go silent and still for a few seconds.

Then, with one hand, she touched the page, letting her palm lie flat and caressing it as if it were real, as if it would flutter off the page and into the air before her. She wanted to feel its silky softness, observe it flying through the air. It would be wonderful. A strange sensation seemed to burst in her chest, filling her with warmth and...something she couldn't describe or put into words. Something odd was happening to her. The corners of her mouth lifted involuntarily and her misty eyes twinkled, shining like beacons in a fog.

It felt..._NICE. And she liked it. It was the first time she did something like this- and she was enjoying it to no end. _

"Michelangelo, I swear if you took my magazines to-"

Donatello's beginning to a long and scolding harangue was cut off, and the frown he had been wearing was wiped clean from his face, eyes widening as his eye ridges went up. His younger brother was poised, half squatting on the floor and peeking out from behind the corner of the hall, a grin on his face as he watched something. Curious, Donnie watched with him and he felt his irritation melt away.

"Well, mission accomplished, I suppose," he whispered with a satisfied nod.

They had finally gotten her to smile.

It was an odd, tiny one, framed by confusion and strange abashment, but it was there all the same. It was..._unique._Like that of a child.

Mikey's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Too bad one of your nerd magazines had to bring us to this- dude, that's kinda sad."

He received a silent but harsh smack to the back of his head.

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_**I do not own TMNT. Enjoy, and review. :)**_


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